Sunday, August 4, 2013

Running Like a Duck and Muscle Work

Good morning!

Are you enjoying your day so far? It's Sunday, so Germany is turned off, again and our day has been really slow.
It is getting a bit cooler out and I would love to go for a run. Fortunately, already one week of recovery for my stress fracture is over. Now, I only have 6 or 7 weeks to go.

To keep busy until I can tie my running shoes again, I am doing some strength work at the gym and today, I'm going to share a couple of the machines with you that I am using for my workouts. Before I started running, I didn't know how important it is to work on core strength and stretching.

I mean, you just get into your running gear and go, right?

That's what I did.

However, if you want to avoid injuries, not spend 8 weeks on crutches, not get painful shots into your stomach every day, you should not follow my example do this.
It's important to work on your entire body. This will also help a lot with your posture and you won't look like a duck. We like ducks, but we don't want to run like them.

The running on water is impressive, but your posture...

So at the gym, I am also focusing on upper body strength. Of course, once I'm allowed to, I will also include more leg work again. But for now, it is arms, back, shoulders, abs, you name it.

Working with free weights sounds like a wonderful thing, but I am terrified to drop things on my toes. Therefore, I am sticking to the weight machines they have at my gym. They also have a couple of rowing machines, which I am dying to try out. Unfortunately, they weren't available when I was there, but next time, I will bring more time and just wait until I can use them.

I think they call these "butterfly", because your arms start shaking and flapping like wings from the physical effort. At least mine were.

With these two machines, I am doing 3 sets of 15 repetitions as well and the weight is 15 kg, too.

Sadly, I have no idea what the English word for this next machine is. We call it "Ruderzugmaschine". Ja. Feel free to look at the pictures and let me know how you call it. I never like not knowing the right words. If you talk constantly, it is never good to miss words. Trust me.

This is a wonderful machine. It trains similar muscles as the rowing machine. I love that it strengthens muscles in your shoulders, your chest, your back, and your arms.
The pain will teach you that you still have ways to go.

Another favorite of mine is this simple apparatus. It is perfect to train your back and leg muscles.

This is another set of muscles that I need to work on a lot. Especially, because, like many other people, I sit at my desk all day. Strengthening the lower back muscles, butt, and the muscles on the back of my legs is really important and should not be forgotten! Here, I am doing 3 sets of 20 repetitions. You can vary how you hold your arms and make the workout harder or easier for you.

These are just a few of the workouts I am doing. So stay tuned. I will share more later this week.

Disclaimer: I have generally no idea what I'm talking about. So please don't trust anything I say. Especially when it comes to workouts, you should ask someone else if you want expert advice.

What workouts are you doing at the gym?Do you like free weights?What is your favorite/ least favorite muscles group to train?

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This is me

Hello and welcome to Stina On The Move! My name is Christina and I am an aspiring runner, who just moved to Berlin.
Originally, I am from Germany, but I met my husband in the US, where we lived in Maryland for a few years. Life has taken us to several places and we love to explore everything close and far from us. We have a dog, Lucy, who moved with us and is keeping us company.
My blog is about running, food, living in a new place, and randomness along the way.
I am always happy to meet new people, so feel free to email me!